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The 10 highest paid CEOs in wireless in 2013

Executive compensation is on the rise. As the New York Times recently noted in its annual compilation of compensation for executives at the 100 largest publicly traded American companies, the median compensation of a CEO in 2013 was $13.9 million, up 9 percent from 2012. The 100 CEOs in the survey took home a combined $1.5 billion last year, a slight bump from 2012.

In the wireless world, the 2013 list is notably different than the 2012 list. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is not among the 10 highest-paid wireless industry executives, a distinction he has held the past several years.

As in the past few years, top executives from AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are near the top of the list. However, in 2013 it was Sprint (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse who was most handsomely compensated.

Hesse saw substantial increases over 2012 in his stock awards, options awards and compensation from Sprint's non-equity incentive plan. Sprint notes in a proxy filing that 2013 was a momentous year for the company: SoftBank completed its $21.6 billion purchase of 80 percent of Sprint, Sprint bought partner Clearwire, shut down its Nextel iDEN network and started deploying its tri-band LTE Sprint Spark service.

Sprint also said it "recognized the benefits of leadership continuity in light of the transformative SoftBank" deal, as well as "the ongoing execution of our network modernization plans." As a result, the company inked a new employment contract with Hesse, which provides for an employment term through July 31, 2018, subject to earlier termination as provided in the agreement. The company also noted that in 2013, Hesse was granted a one-time award of 1,733,102 restricted stock units and 1,733,102 stock options.

Sprint said the awards "were intended to enhance our ability to retain Mr. Hesse's leadership for a minimum period of at least five years during which the Company plans to undergo a transformative change."

Meanwhile, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich's compensation was down significantly from 2012. Krzanich assumed the role of CEO of Intel in May 2013, and Intel noted it awarded Krzanich "a compensation package valued at approximately the 25th percentile relative to CEOs in our peer group, and significantly below the former CEO's annualized compensation. This package reflected the fact that Mr. Krzanich was new to his role and was an internal candidate, and, in the committee's view, gives him an incentive to drive value in the future. Overall, total 2013 compensation for our listed officers was down year-over-year, as we followed through on our commitment to make the 2012 special retention awards a one-time action."

The data provided below is somewhat incomplete. For example, some companies, such as T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS), have not yet filed their proxy statements detailing executive compensation for 2013.

The below lists the 10 highest-paid CEOs in wireless for 2013. The data comes from filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.